Al Joseph Johnson (born January 27, 1979) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

coach and former player. He served as the head football coach of the

East Central University East Central University (ECU or East Central) is a public university in Ada, Oklahoma. It is part of Oklahoma's Regional University System. Beyond its flagship campus in Ada, the university has courses available in McAlester, Shawnee, and Duran ...

Ada, Oklahoma Ada is a city in and the county seat of Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 16,481 at the 2020 United States Census. The city was named for Ada Reed, the daughter of an early settler, and was incorporated in 1901. Ada is ...

from 2018 to 2021. Johnson played professionally as a

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

and guard in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division, an ...

and

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pl ...

. He played college football at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

Early years

Johnson attended Southern Door High School in

Brussels, Wisconsin Brussels is a town in Door County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,136 at the 2010 census. The unincorporated communities of Brussels and Kolberg are located in the town. The unincorporated community of Rosiere is also located par ...

, where he was two-way football player, earning second-team All-American from Prep Football Report, Packerland conference player of the year and All-State honors. He played in the Wisconsin Shrine Game. As a senior, he won the state title in the

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

and was named the conference player of the year in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

College career

Johnson accepted a football scholarship from the

along with his cousin

Ben Johnson Ben, Benjamin or Benny Johnson may refer to: In sports Association football * Ben Johnson (footballer, born 2000), English footballer * Ben Johnson (soccer) (born 1977), American soccer player Other codes of football * Ben Johnson (Australian foo ...

. As a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

freshman, he appeared in 7 games, playing mainly on the

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

and

extra point The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...

conversion lines. He became a starter at

in the second game of his sophomore season, when All-American

Casey Rabach Casey Edward Rabach (; born September 24, 1977) is a former American football center. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the third round of the 2001 NFL Draft, and also played professionally for the Washington Redskins. He played college ...

was moved to

right guard Right Guard is an American brand of deodorant and shower gel that is manufactured and sold by Thriving Brands LLC. It is the second largest brand in the male deodorant category in the United States. Right Guard was introduced in 1960 by The Gi ...

. He started every game as a junior. He was named team captain and received second-team All-Big Ten honors as a senior.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

One of the priorities in

Bill Parcells Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells (born August 22, 1941) is an American former football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons. He rose to prominence as the head coach of the New York Giants from 1983 ...

first season as the head coach of the

was improving the center position play. To that end, he made

Andre Gurode Andre Bernard Gurode (; born March 6, 1978) is a former American football center and guard who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of Col ...

concentrate on playing guard and selected Johnson in the second round (38th overall) of the

2003 NFL Draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936. ...

. In

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...

he was named the starter, but suffered a right knee injury during a practice that required

microfracture surgery Fracture mechanics is the field of mechanics concerned with the study of the propagation of cracks in materials. It uses methods of analytical solid mechanics to calculate the driving force on a crack and those of experimental solid mechanics t ...

, which was thought to be career-threatening, because at the time not many players fully recovered from this medical procedure. In 2004,

Tyson Walter Tyson Barrett Walter (born March 17, 1978) is a former American football offensive tackle and center in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, Washington Redskins and Green Bay Packers. He played college fo ...

was named the starter at center, but suffered a sprained left knee in the second quarter of the season opener against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansio ...

, opening the door for Johnson to start in the rest of the games. The next year, after facing competition in

from Gurode, he went on to start all 16 games, but still split time at center. In 2006, he lost the starting position to Gurode, who went on to become a

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

er. The Cowboys didn't re-sign him in

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

at the end of the season.

Arizona Cardinals

On March 5, 2007, the

signed him to a contract as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He started 14 games at center (missing weeks 2 and 3 with a left knee injury), as part of an

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

that allowed the team's fewest sacks (24) in 20 years and that helped

Edgerrin James Edgerrin Tyree James (; born August 1, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. He played college football at the University of Miami for the Miami Hu ...

rush for 1,222 yards. In the 2008 off-season, Johnson underwent two surgeries on his left knee and was placed on the

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

list. On October 21, he was released with an injury settlement, after the team couldn't reach an agreement to restructure his contract.

Miami Dolphins

On November 29, 2008, Johnson was signed by the

, reuniting with Bill Parcells, who was the Executive Vice President of Football Operations. He played as a reserve center and guard in only four games, because he experienced recurring problems with his left knee.

New England Patriots

On March 16, 2009, Johnson signed with the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

as an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He was waived with an injury settlement on August 6, to make room for

Derrick Burgess Derrick Lee Burgess (born August 12, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles and Oakland Raiders. He was sele ...

Coaching career

In 2013, Johnson was hired as the offensive coordinator at Southern Door High School. In 2014, he was an assistant football coach and offensive coordinator at

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their ...

St. Norbert College St. Norbert College (SNC) is a private Norbertine liberal arts college in De Pere, Wisconsin. Founded in October 1898 by Abbot Bernard Pennings, a Norbertine priest and educator, the school was named after Saint Norbert of Xanten. In 1952, the co ...

. He also was an assistant coach at Southern Door High School in Brussels and a morning show personality on WQDC, which he owned. In 2016, he joined the University of Wisconsin football staff as an assistant offensive line coach. In December 2017, he was named the head football coach at

Head coaching record

References

External links

East Central profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Al 1979 births Living people American football centers American football offensive guards Arizona Cardinals players Dallas Cowboys players East Central Tigers football coaches Miami Dolphins players St. Norbert Green Knights football coaches Wisconsin Badgers football coaches Wisconsin Badgers football players High school football coaches in Wisconsin People from Door County, Wisconsin Coaches of American football from Wisconsin Players of American football from Wisconsin